1. By John C. Maxwell
"Follow Them and People Will Follow You"
IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF
LEADERSHIP21

2. As the title indicates, Maxwell presents 21 laws of leadership, all of which are free-
standing and yet buttressed by one another. You can learn a lot simply by
reviewing the 21 laws with Maxwell's brief explanation of each:

3. Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness. The lower an individual’s
ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the
effectiveness. Your leadership ability – for better or for worse – always determines your
effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization.
Law One : Law of the Lid

4. Law Two : The Law of Influence
The True Measure of Leadership is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less. If you don’t have
influence, you will NEVER be able to lead others. The very essence of all power to influence
lies in getting the other person to participate. If you can’t influence others, they won’t follow
you. And if they won’t follow, then you are not a leader.

5. Law Three : The Law of Process
Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day. Spend your life building your leadership worth. It can’t be
built in a day. Your dedication to improving your leadership ability on a daily basis begins to pay off
and your ability to lead becomes almost automatic. No matter where you’re starting from in the
leadership continuum, you can get better. It really is about daily preparation.

6. Law Four : The Law of Navigation
Anyone Can Steer the Ship, But It Takes a Leader to Chart the Course. Planning is critical to
success. A true leader needs to see the way ahead. Major barriers to successful planning
are fear of change, ignorance, uncertainty about the future and lack of imagination. When
you prepare well, you convey confidence and trust to the people.

7. Law Five : The Law of E.F. Hutton
When the Real Leader Speaks, People Listen. The real leader holds the power, not just the
position. If you have to tell your people you are their leader, you probably aren’t. You
remember the Financial Services Company E. F. Hutton. Their motto was, “When E.F. Hutton
speaks, people listen.”

8. Law Six : The Law of Solid Ground
Trust Is the Foundation of Leadership. To build trust, a leader must exemplify these
qualities: competence, connection, and character. A leader’s good character builds trust
among his followers. But when a leader breaks trust, he forfeits his ability to lead. Violate
the Law of Solid Ground, and you’re through as a leader.

9. Law Seven : The Law of Respect
People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger Then Themselves. When people respect someone
as a person, they admire him. When they respect him as a friend, they love him. When they
respect him as a leader, they follow him. In general though, followers are attracted to
people who are better leaders than themselves. That is the Law of Respect.

10. Law Eight : The Law of Intuition
Leaders Evaluate Everything with a Leadership Bias. The Law of Intuition is based on facts plus
instinct and other intangible factors. Leadership intuition is often the factor that separates the
greatest leaders from the merely good ones. Leaders see problems, evaluate them and begin
resolving them almost immediately.

11. Law Nine : The Law of Magnetism
Who You Are Is Whom You Attract. Birds of a feather flock together. Who you attract as a
leader is not determined by what you want. It is determined by who you are. The better
leader you are, they better leaders you will attract. Who you are is whom you will attract.
That is the Law of Magnetism.

12. Law Ten : The Law of Connection
Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand. The heart comes before the head. The
stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower
will want to help the leader. The vision of the leader becomes the aspiration of the people.
To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart.

13. Law Eleven : The Law of the Inner Circle
A Leader’s Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him. When you have the
right staff, potential skyrockets. Leaders find greatness in a group and help the
members find it in themselves. Surround yourself with the best people possible.

14. Law Twelve : The Law of Empowerment
Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others. The people’s capacity to achieve is determined by
their leader’s ability to empower. Give your people the resources, authority and responsibility
to succeed. The greatest things happen only when you give others the credit. A key to
empowering others is high belief in people. Enlarging others makes you bigger.

15. Law Thirteen : The Law of Reproduction
It Takes a Leader to Raise Up a Leader. Leaders develop leaders; followers cannot develop
leaders. We teach what we know – we reproduce what we are. Spend time with the best
leaders you can find. The only way you will be able to develop other leaders is to become a
better leader yourself.

16. Law Fourteen : The Law of Buy-in
People Buy Into the Leader, Then the Vision. As a leader, you don’t earn any points for
failing in a noble cause. You don’t get credit for being “right”. Your success is measured by
your ability to actually take the people where they need to go. But you can only do that if the
people first buy into you as a leader. That’s the reality of the Law of Buy-In.

17. Law Fifteen : The Law of Victory
Leaders Find a Way for the Team to Win. Victorious leaders feel the alternative to winning is
totally unacceptable, so they figure out what must be done to achieve victory, and then they
go after it with everything at their disposal. Victorious leaders are unable to accept defeat.

18. Law Sixteen : The Law of the Big Mo
Momentum Is a Leader’s Best Friend. All leaders face the challenge of creating change in an
organization. The key is momentum – what Maxwell calls the “Big Mo”. It takes a leader to
create momentum. Followers catch it.

19. Law Seventeen : The Law of Priorities
Leaders Understand That Activity Is Not Necessarily Accomplishment. Leaders never grow
to a point where they no longer need to prioritize. Take time to reassess your leadership
priorities. Are you focused on the few things that bring the highest reward?

20. Law Eighteen : The Law of Sacrifice
A Leader Must Give Up to Go Up. The true nature of leadership is sacrifice. Sacrifice is a constant
in leadership. As you rise in leadership, responsibilities increase and rights decrease. When you
become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself. Leadership success requires
continual change, improvement and sacrifice.

21. Law Nineteen : The Law of Timing
When to Lead Is As Important As What to Do and Where to Go. Every time a leader makes a
move, there must realized that the right action at the right time results in success. When the
right time and the right leader come together, incredible things happen.

22. Law Twenty : The Law of Explosive Growth
To Add Growth, Lead Followers – To Multiply, Lead Leaders. Becoming a leader who develops
leaders requires - Want to be succeeded, Focus on strengths, Develop the top 20%, Treat their
leaders as individuals for impact, Give power away, Invest time in others, Grow by multiplication,
Impact people far beyond their own reach.

23. Law Twenty-One : The Law of Legacy
A Leader’s Lasting Value Is Measured by Succession. Make your organization stronger by
preparing your successor (i.e., train your relief). Part of your job is to prepare your people
and organization for what is ahead. Develop leaders. You will be judged by how well your
people and your organization do after you are gone.

24. As you work to build your organization, remember this:
- Personnel determine the potential of the organization
- Relationships determine the morale of the organization
- Structure determines the size of the organization
-Vision determines the direction of the organization
- Leadership determines the success of the organization
CONCLUSION

25. Read one chapter a week and apply what you learn. Without question, you
will grow as a leader, and you'll see the difference in your day-to-day life and
practice, with clients, and in whatever leadership roles you may hold.

26. Thank You Very Much
Sompong Yusoontorn
Don't tell people how to do
things, tell them what to do
and let them surprise you
with their results.
- George S. Patton